Leadership from the Heart article: “The Beginner’s Guide to Goal Setting” Posted: 07 Jul 2013 05:19 AM PDT Posted by Michael Hyatt When I speak publically I often ask how many people believe in the power of written goals. Every hand shoots up. Yet when I ask how many of them have written goals for this year, very few hands go up. This always surprises me, given the fact most people know intuitively (and research has proved) that those who write their goals down accomplish significantly more than those who do not write their goals. Some of this, I suppose, is just inertia. But from years as a corporate executive and now as a mentor, coach, and occasional consultant, I know that most people have just never been taught how to write effective goals. With that in mind, I wanted to offer a basic goal-setting primer. You can find plenty of advice online, but these are the five principles I follow in my own practice: 1. Keep them few in number. Productivity studies show that you really can’t focus on more than 5–7 items at any one time. And don’t try to cheat by including sections with several goals under each section. This is a recipe for losing focus and accomplishing very little. Instead, focus on a handful of goals that you can repeat almost from memory. 2. Make them “smart.” This is an acronym, as you probably know, and it is interpreted in various ways by different teachers. When I refer to smart goals, I mean this. Goals must meet five criteria. They must be: Specific Bad: Write a book. Good: Write a book proposal for The Life Plan Manifesto. Measurable Bad: “Earn more this year than last.” Good: “Earn $5,000 more this year than last.” Actionable Bad: Be more consistent in blogging. Good: Write two blog posts per week. Realistic Bad: Qualify for the PGA Tour. Good: Lower my golf handicap by four strokes. Time-bound Bad: Lose 20 pounds. Good: Lose 20 pounds by December 31st. 3. Write them down. This is critical. There is a huge...
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 16:51:28 +0000